LGBTQ+ tourism is thriving in Hawaii

The National Gay Flag Football League’s Gay Bowl XXII Hawaii 2022 Flag Football Tournament, the largest LGBTQ+ event ever held in Honolulu, helped this year’s Honolulu Pride parade surpass the 2019 event, which was the state’s largest parade that year.

More than 1,200 LGBTQ+ athletes, family members and friends were on Oahu this month to take part in the tournament at Kapiolani Regional Park.

Honolulu was originally selected as the host site for the NGFFL Gay Bowl in 2020, but the event that year was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some 50 teams from about 20 cities across the country participated in the three-day event this year, and many stayed for Pride Week, which culminated Saturday with a parade and festival, although other related events are planned throughout the month.

Francine Beppu, chair of the Hawaii LGBT Legacy Foundation’s board of directors, said as many as 5,000 participants and up to 10,000 attendees were at the Honolulu Pride events Saturday. Beppu said, “Everyone was so excited for the return to in-person events. We also got interest from national media organizations.”

She said the high attendance rate reflected pent-up demand for the first in- person Pride events since the pandemic as well as carryover visitors from the Gay Bowl, which took place Oct. 6-9 and was co-sponsored by the city. Competition took place across 12 football fields that were designated across Kapiolani Park, and various venues in downtown Honolulu and Waikiki hosted related events.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said in a statement, “I know first hand that few things are more exciting than the spirit of competition, and my many years as a football player and coach provided some of the best memories of my life. We’re thrilled that more than 50 of the NGFFL’s best teams have traveled to Hawaii to compete.”

Richard Knocton, an owner of Atlas Honolulu, a recently formed LGBTQ+ events company and pop-up bar, said turnout for the Gay Bowl and for Pride bodes well for Hawaii’s quest to increase its foothold as an LGBTQ+ destination rather than one that the community travels to for other reasons.

“The Gay Bowl put us on the international scene and will drive LGBTQ+ business and travel to Hawaii. It was great for the economy and for local people, who don’t get to travel, to see so much love and support from elsewhere,” Knocton said. “Hawaii is very friendly, it’s very welcoming. We are not a headliner as an LGBTQ+ destination yet, but I think that we’ll get there. One of the keys is to have more events like the Gay Bowl, which, since it came just before Pride, gave people a reason to stay in Hawaii longer. We even had some people check out the neighbor islands.”

Kelly Sanders, executive vice president of operations for Highgate, said about 30% of the occupancy at the ‘Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach, the sponsor hotel for the Gay Bowl, was related to that partnership.

“It was a great week. I think having this national flag football conference in Hawaii definitely elevates our position both locally and nationally because of the number of people who came that were first-time visitors to Hawaii,” Sanders said. “We estimate about 20% of the people attending the Gay Bowl stayed over for Pride.”

Sanders said the ‘Alohilani also is running a “Love Is Love” campaign month throughout October, where the hotel gives $10 from every booking to the Hawaii LGBT Legacy Foundation.

Duke E. Ah Moo, Hilton vice president and commercial director of Hawaii and French Polynesia, said the LGBTQ+ market is one of the fastest-growing sectors in travel.

“As other markets mature or even decline, it is critical that we continue to seek out new markets, new travelers,” Ah Moo said in an email. “This market also tends to have a higher average daily spend, with high disposable income and the propensity to spend on luxury accommodations, goods, and services.”

Sanders said another advantage is that the LGBTQ+ community tends to travel as a tribe, so it’s not unusual to see large bookings of seven to 10 people.

Ah Moo added that LGBTQ+ tourism aligns with Hawaii’s tourism goals as “the community values the concept of regenerative tourism and will support and carry forward the message to leave Hawaii in a better place in which they found it.”

He said “there are numerous websites and social media sites that promote special events in Hawaii. Airlines and hotels have been marketing to the LGBTQ+ market for years, with promotions, package, sponsorships of events, and more.”

However, Hawaii is a little behind the curve. Ah Moo said cities such as New York; Los Angeles; Ft. Lauderdale and Key West, Fla.; Palm Springs, Calif.; New Orleans; San Francisco; and Portland, Ore., “host ongoing festivals, events, concerts specifically for the LGBTQ+ community — much more than Hawaii does.”

Sanders said Orlando, Fla.; Anaheim, Calif.; Las Vegas; Baltimore; and Mexico, especially Puerto Vallarta, also are major competitors for LGBTQ+ visitors. However, he said, the “LGBTQ+ community has been a big part of Hawaii’s history in the past and continues to be an important piece of our future.”

Sanders noted that an exhibit just ended at the Bishop Museum that was dedicated to “The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu,” which are in Waikiki. The exhibit, which ended Sunday, presented a version of history that recognized these healers as mahu, people of dual male and female spirit.

Ah Moo said he sees the romance market, including destination weddings and honeymoons, as an opportunity for Hawaii tourism to expand the LGBTQ+ market.

“One of our top tourism sectors has always been the romance market, including destination wedding and honeymoons,” he said. “We need to do more to attract LGBTQ+ couples to Hawaii so that we are on par with other destinations. More special events, festivals, conferences would also expand the market.”

Chris Kam, Omnitrak president and chief operating officer, said a recent study on COVID-19 and LGBTQ travel from Community Marketing &Insights LGBTQ Inc. showed that COVID-19 has created more opportunity for Hawaii to resonate as a destination with LGBTQ+ travelers, who make up about 9% of the state’s travelers.

Kam said the survey showed 66% of LGBTQ participants indicated that they were taking at least one overnight vacation.

“Big city and international destination travel was lower than might have otherwise been expected. However, LGBTQ community members discovered other alternatives such as small towns, beaches and outdoor adventure destinations,” the survey read.

Kam noted another portion of the survey, which read, “While comfort levels significantly increased across all activity categories, it should be noted that there is still significant caution about participating in indoor activities or activities that involve crowds.”

Kam said after COVID-19, Hawaii’s isolation and its popularity as a nature and beach destination are among the more desired destination attributes among the LGBTQ+ community.

Sanders said, “I think adventure and experiential travel is on the rise.”

Even so, Knocton said increasing Hawaii’s nightlife and LGBTQ+ events will continue to be important.

“We can’t dismiss Wang Chung’s, we can’t dismiss Hula’s, we can’t dismiss Bacchus Waikiki or any of the local bar hangout areas,” he said. “But a group of us have started Atlas Honolulu, a new nightclub specifically for the LGBTQ+ community. We had an opening Oct. 1 and a party for Gay Bowl and an official Pride after-party.”

Sanders said when he was on the Hawaii Tourism Authority board, most of the marketing and branding money was spent on destination marketing. However, there had been discussions about allocating some money to cultivating and driving tourism for niche markets like the LGBTQ+ community.

Hawaii tourism leaders have started making strides to support and attract the LGBTQ+ community, as evidenced by their support in landing the NGFFL Gay Bowl in 2020 and getting it rescheduled after it was canceled due to the COVID- 19 pandemic.

HTA, the state’s lead tourism agency, provided $25,000 in funding for the Gay Bowl and another $20,000 for Pride. HTA President and CEO John De Fries said in a statement, “Embracing the entire ohana is what makes Hawaii unique and welcoming to all. While LGBTIQ+ visitors tend to be mindful and often higher spending — the target Hawaii traveler — what’s more important is being true to our values of aloha and malama, especially given the climate of intolerance in many other places in the world.”

Blangiardi’s administration’s commitment to the LGBTQ+ community also has gone well beyond the flag football event. Blangiardi joined members of the Honolulu City Council and representatives from Oahu’s LGBTQ+ community Oct. 3 to mark Honolulu Pride Month by raising the Pride flag outside the Frank F. Fasi Municipal Building.

Blangiardi also requested that Honolulu Hale be lit in the rainbow colors of the Pride flag from sundown Oct. 2 through sunrise Oct. 8. Additionally, the mayor’s office and dozens of city employees and their families participated Saturday in the Honolulu Pride Parade.